Tel Shaddud

A military trench system was constructed around the mound to serve British forces and later the Israeli army. Kibbutz Sarid, established nearby, occupied the trench through at least until 1951.

Two structures were built on the mound’s summit, with burials—likely Mamluk-era—in the northern slope.

Crusader period potsherds retrieved during the excavation indicate occupation within this timeframe and reflect both local ceramic traditions and broader regional trade networks.

Remains include both monumental construction (well-dressed stone building on the northern slope) and domestic structures with courtyards (southern area). An oil lamp filled with 7 coins was found buried in one building, suggesting deliberate ritual placement.

The discovery of a domestic structure on the summit of the tell and stamped amphora handles adds to the scattered Hellenistic period buildings found at the base of the mound and near the spring.

Fragmentary building remains and potsherds dating to the Persian period were retrieved from the summit.

In the Late Iron Age IIA (late 10th-9th centuries BCE), a major public-monumental building was constructed on the northern slope, aligned toward a critical road intersection. The structure’s destruction layer shows evidence of intense burning, indicating violent destruction—likely from the campaigns of Hazael of Damascus. Pottery from the destruction layer includes storage jars typical of the royal economy of early monarchic Israel, revealing Tel Shaddud’s integration into the administrative system of the Kingdom of Israel. During the Iron Age IIC (7th century BCE), resettlement resumed under Assyrian rule. Building remains suggest the fortress was reoccupied—possibly as a strategic military installation overlooking the main road network. The site remained visible from the Assyrian administrative center at Megiddo.

Notable Find: A single burial in an Egyptian-style anthropoid coffin (Late Bronze Age III, 12th century BCE) reveals that the local elite had contact with Egyptian colonial administration based at nearby Beth-Shean, suggesting possible ties to the Egyptian royal economy.

An important extramural cemetery developed at the site’s base, showing remarkable continuity in burial practices from Middle Bronze Age through Late Iron Age IIA (14th-9th centuries BCE)—unique in the Jezreel Valley.

The site was first settled during Early Bronze Age I, with a substantial rural village developing at the foot of the mound alongside the spring of En Shaddud.